President Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned as Barcelona president early this morning following an arrest in Barcelona, which was ignited by Barcelona's 8-2 humiliation to Bayern Munich who went on to win the UEFA Champions League last season.
Bartomeu was set to be President till March 2021 but a vote-of-no-confidence was approaching which opted him to walk away.
Bartomeu in an exit statement said: "After being knocked out of the Champions League, the easiest thing was to leave, The easiest thing was to resign.
"Yet the day after that painful defeat we had to make decisions that we could not put off any more, key to guaranteeing the sporting future and immediate sustainability of the Club.
"Furthermore, we had to do so in the middle of a global crisis without precedent. We could not leave the Club in the hands of an Interim Board with limited powers.
"Who would have found the new coach? Who would have handled transfers? Who would have fought for Leo Messi to stay? Who would have carried out the budget cuts? Who would have handled the salary adjustments of the professional sportspeople at the Club?
"As a Board we understood that, out of responsibility, we have to make those decisions. The majority of which were uncomfortable and unpopular.
"The most obvious sign that we were not holding on to power is that we called elections for the month of March. The earliest date allowed by the Statutes.
"That was because we believed that this would help to calm things down, allow teams to work and allow an ordered transition to the newly-elected Board of Directors.
"An early resignation would have led to the Club being tied up in an electoral process, a power vacuum, under the management of an Interim Board with limited powers that within a few weeks would have to take sporting and economic decisions with serious consequences that could not be put off."